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New Delhi: With a few
days left before the June 30 deadline for finalising the Lokpal
bill, uncertainty continues over the fate of the much-awaited
anti-graft legislation.
Despite Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily Friday releasing a
comparative draft of the Lokpal bill, prepared by the five
ministers and with a note on the reservations expressed by the
civil society members, the differences over some key provisions
remained.
The government has set June 30 deadline for finalising the bill.
It has called for an all-party meeting July 3 to discuss the draft
of the contentious legislation.
The draft bill will then be sent to the cabinet, the bill will be
prepared by the concerned ministries and then introduced in
parliament in the monsoon session beginning Aug 1.
Signalling a toughening of stand against the civil society, most
members of the Congress Working Committee, which met Friday, asked
the government not to "tolerate pressure tactics by a few
self-styled persons in the name of civil society".
The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, senior ministers, Gandhi family
scion Rahul Gandhi and other leaders.
There were 'polititicising signals' on the other side too, as
civil society leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi met senior
BJP leader L.K. Advani Friday seeking his party's support for the
civil society version of the bill - the Jan Lokpal bill.
"The differences between the government and the civil society
versions are widening, instead of bridging," said Balji Sharma, a
political analyst. "Sometimes, the bill will be caught in a
political battle between the two sides," he added.
Moily, while releasing the comparative draft, said Friday that the
"government has not commenced drafting of the Lokpal bill". But
his note highlighted the government's proposals, giving an
impression that those would be the preferred points.
Commenting on the Lokpal joint drafting committee - led by Finance
Minister Pranab Mukherjee and comprising four other ministers and
five representatives of the civil society including reformer Anna
Hazare - Moily said the panel was a "non-statutory committee".
He criticised the civil society and said: "They have changed their
views many a times. It is difficult to say where they stand."
Asked about the minister's remarks, civil society representative
Swami Agnivesh told IANS: "The government criticism will not
demoralise Anna, his supporters and the public."
"Tansparency is an idea whose time has come in India. None,
howsoever powerful, will be able to stop it, but may be able to
delay it for some time," he added.
He said the government's "strategy to provoke political parties
against the civil society will not succeed much".
The joint drafting committee, constituted after a five-day fast by
Hazare in New Delhi in April, has held nine meetings, but could
not reach a consensus.
The major points of difference include the civil society demands
for bringing the prime minister, the Central Bureau of
Investigation and the higher judiciary and the parliamentarians
under the purview of the bill - which is opposed by the
government.
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